The present invention relates generally to agricultural machinery and more particularly to a harvester with a selectively positionable deflector or flap which is arranged at the discharge end of an ejector pipe or conduit.
Chopper forage harvesters of this type cut crop material, chop the material to a preselected length, and then project the chopped crop material into a forage box located either behind or adjacent the harvester. The forage box may be on a trailer towed by the harvester or on a truck. Both open-top and closed-top forage boxes are used. In the latter case one or more of the end walls or side walls has a filling opening adjacent its upper edge.
An apparatus to achieve filling an open-top forage box as evenly as possible is shown in German Patent 3,316,325 published Nov. 8, 1984. That patent shows a pivotable two-part flap at the output end of the ejector pipe, by which the angle of projection of the chopped crop material or forage can be changed according to the position of the flap. But such an arrangement cannot be used with a closed-top forage box which is filled through an opening in the side or end. In such a case it is the practice to remove the whole ejector pipe and replace it with one designed for directing the forage through the opening in the side or end of the forage box. It is desirable to be able to fill either an open-top or closed-top forage box without exchanging ejector pipes.
The present invention is directed to solving the above described problem in the prior art.